Disabled Facilities Grants

Financial and technical assistance available to adapt private sector homes to meet the needs of disabled children and adults.

What adaptations could the grant cover?

installing a stair lift

modifying a bathroom

providing ramps

making doorways wider

making sleeping and toilet facilities accessible

and much more...

Who is eligible and how to apply

You can apply for a mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant if you are a private owner occupier, private tenant or housing association tenant who has had an assessment by an Occupational Therapist which suggested adaptations to your home are required for your needs. Please enquire about a grant with our Housing team if you are a council tenant. Contact the private sector housing team for further information ehs@southkesteven.gov.uk

Request an assessment

Contact the Adult Social Care team on 01522 782155 or the Children with Disabilities team on 01522 782111.

After you have been assessed, if the Occupational Therapist considers you may be eligible, they will forward us a recommendation based on your needs. The works must be necessary and appropriate to meet the needs of the disabled occupant and it must be reasonable and practicable to carry out the work.

The Private Sector Housing Team will then contact you to collect some initial financial information and carry out a means test. This is used to assess the level of contribution the disabled person would have to make towards the cost of the works. If your application proceeds, plans will be drawn up (if applicable) for approval by the Occupational Therapist prior to approval of a grant.

Further information about Disabled Facilities Grants

The grant pays for essential adaptations identified in the Occupational Therapist assessment as 'necessary and appropriate' and according to our standard specification. If you wish to have work undertaken higher than our specification you may do so but you would need to pay any additional cost yourself.

If you start your work before you have submitted a full application and before you have been informed about the decision, you will need to be prepared to pay for all the associated cost yourself. We are not able to give a grant retrospectively once the work has started.

The maximum mandatory grant available is £30,000. The grant is subject to means-testing, and the amount awarded will depend on your own financial circumstances; you may need to pay part or all of the cost of the work.

Although we pay for whole or part of the work, the contractual relationship is between you and the contractor(s). We will not undertake any additional costs associated with any disputes between you and the contractor(s).

In certain cases a local land charge of up to £10,000 can be placed on the property which must be repaid if the property is sold or disposed of within 10 years.

If within five years you do not need the adaptation for whatever reason, you or your representatives are obliged to inform us; this is because we may wish to remove the equipment if practical (e.g. stair-lift) for it to benefit another household.